Ellis was holding his breath. “Do you need anything, Andrew?”
Andrew Burns was young and handsome and actually about eighty-something years old but looked about thirty-five. “Grab my keys off your foyer table and get my bag out of the trunk, yeah?”
“No problem.”
The moment Ellis was gone, Doc Burns smiled at me. “Now. How do you really feel?”
I laughed. “Cold, freaked, hungry, horny and achey.”
“Good.”
“Good? About the sex?”
“Normal. Especially with our kind. You are carrying our kind, at least partially, so normal. You’ll probably want to have so much sex he’ll be beating you off with a stick.”
“Doubtful. But it’s…” I frowned. “It’s okay for the baby?”
“Completely. Unless there’s pain, bleeding or cramps. Those are your warnings and if you see any of them at all you drop your butt in a chair and call me. Got it?”
“Yes, sir.”
Ellis was back with a shiny black leather bag and a glass of water for me. “Here, sip on this a bit.”
I sipped the water just to make him happy and we got me all set up for my very first pregnancy pelvic. Joy.
Ellis stayed by my head as if he’d never seen that bit of me before. Which made me laugh.
“Doing okay, Ruby?” Doc asked.
“Fine.”
He was gentle and fast and in a moment rolling our sheet down over my knees. He pulled his gloves off and dropped them in the bedroom waste basket. “Everything looks good. Beyond good. You are about 20% through the pregnancy.”
“I am what?” I yelped.
Ellis pressed his lips together. “About that…well, we weren’t quite sure how it would work…”
“Because it never has,” Doc Burns said.
“But they tend to be fast. Usually a few weeks. I’d say you’ve been pregnant a few days. So, in a few weeks.”
I had a few weeks before I was a mother. I had a few weeks before I was a werewolf. I had a few weeks before I was a hairy, deadly mother.
“Okay,” I said. “Now I feel like I’m in shock.”
* * * *
“I told her it was fine,” I heard the doctor mutter to Ellis and then he was gone.
“We have ruined Christmas Eve,” I sighed.
“No we haven’t. They’re all down there,” he laughed. “Can’t you hear them? None of them are leaving until they know you are okay. We have good friends. And stubborn friends at that. In case you didn’t know.”
I snorted, covered my eyes, tried not to cry.
“Are you going to cry?”
“Shut up. Do not smell my tears before they even come, Ellis.”
“It was based more on your face. Are you okay?”
I looked at him and wanted to kiss him and stroke him and hug him close to me because he looked so worried damn near ready to turn inside out.
“I’m okay. I am…terrified.”
“Of being a wolf?”
“Not really. Of the change part of it. But more of being a mother.”
He cocked his head at me, confused. “Why?”
“My God, Ellis. What if we fuck him up?”
“Or her,” he said.
“It’s a him,” I said, and waved a hand at him.
He sat up straighter, “How do you know?”
“I haven’t a clue. But trust me, it’s a boy.”
“We won't fuck him up,” Ellis said, taking my hand. Kissing it, holding it to his chest so I could feel his heart pounding.
“He’ll be on Oprah before he’s ten. My mother has wrecked my life. She’s awful. She…”
And then I was crying in earnest, great hitching sobs that shook my body. Ellis sat on the bed and put my head in his lap. I turned on my side, crying still and let him stroke my hair.
“You will be the best mother ever, Ruby. You will. I’m just sorry…”
“What? Why are you sorry?” A fresh rush of tears. “Are you sorry you got such a spaz to mother your child?”
He laughed at me, that shit. “Yes, Ruby, that’s what I was going to say. You caught me.”
I slapped his thigh and he chuckled again.
“I’m sorry that I’ve rushed your life. I’m sorry that we’re getting so little time just us. But I’m not sorry we’re going to be family or that I love you or any of that. But the danger, I am sorry about. And I promise you, we’ll pull this town together and put an end to this shit. To be honest, I have no idea how the fuck they got in.”
I blew out a shivering sigh and moved my head around. I felt his cock under my ear. I felt it stiffen at my movement. “Ellis?
“Yes?”
I started to sob again. Hard.
He turned my face up a bit so he could look at me. “Why are you crying again?”
“Because—” I broke off, shaking my head.
“Tell me, Ruby.”
I gasped. “Because I’m horny again. Really, really bad. And I need you to… I need you to take care of it.”
His eyes darkened and his face narrowed and he leaned in and kissed me before saying, “How, Ruby?”
“I need you to fuck me,” I admitted. “Like, ten minutes ago…”
He had my clothes off before I could dry my tears.
Chapter 10
“Jesus, again? Perverts.” Tyler frowned, but I found his eyes darting away. Darting toward the rather fetching Iris. She was doing her best not to look at him and failing miserably.
“It’s part of the pregnancy!” I blurted, feeling my face color.
“Well how freaking long are you going to be pregnant?”
“Not long,” I growled and his face fell.
“For real?”
“For real. Just a few weeks. Maybe…ish.”
“For now we need to figure out what is going on with Town.” Ellis growled. “Somehow, someone who wished Ruby ill got in and got to her. And I’m not happy about it.”
He turned to Roberta. “Call Evie and Evan and tell them we need to have a meeting. Town Hall. Now. No exceptions.”
The prophecy was that Ellis would basically save his kind from themselves Being a prophecy, it wasn’t exactly crystal clear on that front. The jeopardy of the status quo, from what I could tell, was that some of the wolves wanted to go back to old school ways of violence and wildness. The other faction wanted to remain blended with human society. Normals and supernaturals living together amicably.
“Evie and Evan?” I asked, nibbling another slice of London Broil.
“They are basically the organizers of all things town meeting,” Iris said.
Tyler glanced her way, blanched, looked at Peabody who was grinning.
“Oh,” I blurted. “Won’t people be pissed since it’s Christmas?” I murmured, feeling—yes, shut up—weepy about it.
Ellis pulled me close to him and tucked my head under his chin. “Not as pissed as they’ll be if we’re infiltrated by Frank followers.”
I shivered. “Frank, that stupid ass.”
The thing was, even weeks later, when I closed my eyes, I could see Frank’s evil head rolling away from his equally evil body. I could hear the popping-crunching-squelching noise of the event. I could feel the break-crackle-snap of bones severing. And yes, I could feel the shovel in my hand and the splinters I had picked out of my palms for days. No matter how bad he was, I had by no means killed Frank without a second thought. I was constantly giving it a second, third and fourth thought.
“Agreed,” Ellis said.
The rest of them nodded and Iris was dialing her cell phone. “Yeah, um, sorry…” she said as she wandered from the room.
I ate more beef. I was going to get fat, wasn’t I?
Ellis whispered in my ear. “Not really. You’ll have a baby bump and then it will go away.”
“Is it going to be a…pup?” I whispered.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never mated with a human woman to fruition. I’ve only mated with
two human women.”
“And one of them was brief.” I smiled at him. Before me had been…well, me. Back when I was his mate Susan. Between my incarnation as Susan and my present self, Ellis had taken a lover for one night. Just one. Just for sexual satisfaction. One hiker shared his bed in fifty-some odd years.
Ellis had more self control than me when it came to sex.
“Am I going to have a puppy?” I gasped.
I heard Peabody break out in a bear-like roar of laughter and I winced. I was having a panic attack.
“No,” Ellis said, and I could tell he was biting his lip.
“That’s good,” I said softly.
“Because I’m a wolf not a dog,” he said.
“I need to sit down.”
* * * *
In the town hall was a crush of very warm shifter bodies. You did not need a coat when you hung out with these folks.
“Are you okay? Dear Lord, sit down.” Doc Burns’s wife Lindsay said.
“Lindsay,” I whispered, sitting where she pushed me as Ellis took the stage.
“What, doll baby?”
“I am terrified.”
“I know. I can sm—”
“Do not say it,” I said.
She bit her lip and smiled at me. She brushed a strand of unruly hair out of my face and said, “Well, you look gorgeous. You’re glowing. And you look happy. And you have the um…odor…of good health. Is that a better way to put it, Ruby?”
I nodded, twining my fingers together to keep my nerves at bay. Lindsay had been one of the first ones to help me when I took Frank out. She’d been one of the first to almost forcibly shove my head between my knees so I wouldn’t pass out. Not much older than me, she was funny and motherly and awesome.
Lindsay and Doc had four kids. Two boys and two girls. Rumor was, the girls were more rowdy than the boys. I was glad to have a friend like that. Especially now that Ellis had knocked me up. Rage filled me and then was gone as quickly as it had come.
“Whoa,” I said.
“Mood swing?”
I nodded. “The mother of all mood swings. How did you kno—never mind,” I sighed. “Don’t tell me.”
Ellis took the stage and motioned to me. Did I want to stay or come up with him? I pointed to my seat and Lindsay, who stroked my hair like I was one of her kids. Ellis nodded and stood straight and true, running a hand through his blondish-reddish-brownish hair. Then he spoke loudly for everyone to hear.
The room settled swiftly, silence rushing through the gathering.
“Okay, folks. Firstly, Merry Christmas Eve.”
There was a murmuring of well wishes and then quiet again.
“But we have an issue. Earlier tonight, Ruby was attacked. That’s upsetting enough since we sent Frank’s faction packing a while ago. What’s more upsetting is there was supposed to be a perimeter in place. Ever since the young woman whose sister was killed came in with Tyler and Peabody.”
A rustling amongst the locals in the crowded room due to a bear and a vampire being in camp, but then silence.
“What’s even more upsetting is that Ruby is pregnant. A fact confirmed tonight by Doc Burns. And as you can imagine, someone attacking my pregnant wife – your alpha female – is not the way to win my love and affection.”
I turned to Lindsay. “Does Ellis know what he’s actually supposed to do?”
“Know what?”
“Does he know the full prophecy and how he’s supposed to do something special? Some kind of we-are-the-world united front deal?”
I found that now that I knew a tiny being was in there, I constantly had my hand on my belly as if to offer an extra barrier between it and the world.
Him. Between him and the world. This was a boy.
Lindsay nodded. “I think Ellis does. Maybe even has for a while.”. She studied my face. “He’s not one to put stock in stuff like that, though. Not very much anyway.”
“But just because he pays it no never mind doesn’t make it untrue,” I said.
“You’re right.”
Ellis was staring everyone down. I focused back on my handsome husband and his very unhappy demeanor. Despite our final fling in bed before starting this, attraction swept through me and my skin pebbled in goosebumps. Worst time ever to feel this way, but man, oh man, but that man took care of me. In all ways.
“Easy girl,” Lindsay chuckled.
I turned and felt bright splotches of blood surface under my skin. “Oh come on!” I hissed, but I was laughing too.
“Lust is one of the easiest things for us to smell,” she said. “Keeps the pack procreating.” She winked.
Ellis was booming. “I hate to do this, but for the time being, keep an eye on those around you. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious. We need to have a united front. A united Town. If someone wishes my family ill—my wife, my pack—I want to know about it. And I will to deal with it. I want to clear something up,” he went on, leveling those surreal blue eyes at the crowd that stood on the floor around him. “I preach non-violence. I do not feel we can rage through this world – doing and taking whatever we want whenever we want it with no rules simply because we are wolves. I do not believe we are superior to humans because we can be physically stronger, thus making us more dangerous than them. We are all human to some degree. But I want it clear to whoever is listening, in this town, in my pack: if you come at me with violence, if you threaten my family…I will shut you down. And I will have no qualms about doing it.”
Ellis took a moment to look over each and every person in attendance. His eyes found mine and I saw something in them that I never had before. Paternal instinct.
A shiver worked up my spine.
Chapter 11
“You scared me a little,” I said to him as he walked me home.
Tyler and Peabody had escorted Madeline to the shop. Iris had tagged along. It was almost comical. I never thought I’d see a werewolf mooning over a vampire, but there she was. Looking doe-eyed like some Anime heroine with her crazy hair.
“You scared me a lot.” He took my hand.
“Your attitude. Not what happened tonight.”
“Well, what happened tonight scared me, so that was my reaction. It is bad enough that someone would even think to come after you after all we’ve been through. But now…” He hugged me tight to his side and placed a big, warm hand on my belly.
I felt a rush of affection and then a staggering flood of lust followed.
“I will,” he said, without me speaking. “When we get home.”
“I am a horn dog,” I gasped.
“It’s hormones. And we weren’t exactly celibate before all this.”
I snorted. “Hardly.”
The house had debris of Christmas Eve food. We’d put most of it away before the impromptu meeting, but what was left Ellis and I chucked. Then we put the booze away and tossed the linens down the basement to be washed. I turned into his outstretched arms and kissed him back when he kissed me gently. His fingers sifted through my long hair that was still snarled from the wind outside. A windy, snowy, Christmas Eve should have been picturesque. Except for the attack.
“Come on wife, mother of my child, let’s get you in the shower.”
“I still get scared when you say that. I still am afraid I will screw up our baby.”
“Little Bird, all parents screw up their kids. It’s our job,” he chuckled.
I let him lead me upstairs and put me in the shower while he stripped out of his clothes. Then he joined me, washing my back and even soaping my hair. Every few moments his hands came around to brush over the small swell of my belly. He held me that way for a moment and I let my head drop back onto his wet shoulder. I felt his heart pounding against my back. When he slipped his hands a little lower and touched me, I warmed all over.
He started to bend me forward, fingers slipping lower still and I turned to him quickly. “Please, Ellis. No. Not here. Face to face, in our bed.”
He grinned at me.
We’d had sex just about everywhere since we admitted our fate was each other, but this was different. “Whatever you want, Little Bird,” he said.
He cut the water and picked me up like I weighed nothing. At six foot and a curvy size 12, feeling like you weighed nothing was a perk. Gotta love werewolf strength.
“Ellis, I need a towel…” But he was still walking toward our room, his face set with determination, his cock hard under my bottom as he carried me. “I’m all wet!” I said.
He dropped me gently on the bed, spread my legs so my ass was by the very edge of the bed and said, “I like it when you’re wet.”
Dropping to his knees on the carpet, Ellis lowered his head and he tasted me. My body responded so much more intensely to all of this now. What had once simply been a quick response was now lightning fast. I grasped his hair, arching a bit, already on the verge of coming. But then he straightened and drove his cock into me. Thrusting deep, he gripped my hips and raised them just a touch. I bunched our bedding in my fists and bit my lips.
“God, I’m going to come,” I said.
“Soon,” he laughed. He pulled free of me and I made a desperate sound.
“Ellis!” I growled.
But then his head was back down there and he was sucking my swollen clit into his mouth and working it with his tongue. An orgasm slammed me and I swallowed the rest of my argument.
Before I could catch my breath he’d straightened again to drive his cock back into me. His hands slipped under my bottom and rocked it up just enough that he got the perfect kind of friction. The kind that makes me crazy. I touched him anywhere I could reach him—chest, bicep, face.
He looked up to smile at me, the smile of a man who knows he’s bringing his woman pleasure.
It made me laugh, that smile of his. “I love you,’ I whispered.
“Not as much as I love you.”
My cunt gripped tight and the first flicker of another orgasm worked my insides and then he was pulling free again. “Ell—oh…”
Then another gorgeous orgasm sucked out of me by his talented mouth. This one was insane—strong and sweet and never ending. I held great hunks of his hair in my hands and tugged as I came, praying I wasn’t making his scalp bleed. Ellis’s tongue didn’t stop until I started to chant, “No, no, no more. No more, too sensitive.”
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